


Tangled Emotions (two within one)

by KeeperofSeeds



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blanket Permission, During Canon, Emotional Hurt, Fade Spirits, Ficlet, Gen, Human Cole (Dragon Age), POV Cole (Dragon Age), Quadruple Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 17:02:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15586569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeeperofSeeds/pseuds/KeeperofSeeds
Summary: Cole sense something half familiar in Skyhold. Someone who needs help.





	Tangled Emotions (two within one)

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the DA writing prompts from the dragonage reddit:  
> 60\. Alcohol, laughter, longing, green
> 
> This story suggests that Anders has followed Hawke to Skyhold (maybe without her knowing) and has snuck in, only for Cole to feel his lingering angst from Kirkwall and his and Justice’s fond memories of the events of DA: Awakening.

“Laughter, loud and filling the room. He longs to return. To return to the time Before. Before fire and ash. To green and growing things. Her eyes sparkling, fire and lighting mixing together and- oh.” Cole pauses, blinking owlishly.

“You alright there?” Bull asks, leaning a large arm on the table to bend closer.

“...Yes.” Cole says slowly. Then his eyes widen impossibly further, and without another word, he vanished.

Bull shakes his head and stands to go get another drink from the bar. Just when he thought he’d begun to understand the kid. Ah well. He’d be back. He always was. Sounded like he’d latched on someone in need anyway. Hopefully he wouldn’t scare the poor person half to death by appearing by their bed.

Cole reappears near the stables. Blackwall is still gone. One of the Inquisitor’s missions back to the Hinterlands, but there is another presence nearby. A familiar feeling. Grief and guilt calling out to be untangled. He could fix the hurt! He knew it!

But there was something else. Something powerful.

Something...like him.

Trapped. Confused.

Cole was learning about being flesh and bone again, he knew what it was like. Memories within memories called out for his attention but they overlapped and crumbled when he tried to look closer.

Shields erected themselves.

“You want to help,” he called into the darkness.

The only answer is a dim blue glow from near the stairs, but Cole is not afraid. He can help them remember. The two within one. He’d help them remember the laughter and feeling of belonging and the green of new beginnings. Even healers need help healing the hurt sometimes.

Cole carefully kept his hands at his sides, away from his knives, as the blue glow faded away. A hooded figure stepped cautiously forward. A tired smile, a small flash in the moonlight.

Cole smiled at the man and the strange spirit within. Layered so close together it would be hard to untangle, but he wanted to try.

“Come with me,” Cole said, and slowly, the hooded figure nodded and rasped out, “Sure. Why not trust the strange boy who just appeared in the exact place I was hiding? What could go wrong?”

Cole didn’t reply but turned his back to the figure, clearly trusting him to follow along.

Anders shrugged, pull his hood further down, and followed the stranger deeper into Skyhold.


End file.
